IT was a multinational meeting of women from 34 countries. There were 2000 women in the ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. They had all met for one purpose — to provide financial support for the Hope Center for Children with exceptional needs.
The Hope Center helps children and young people up to the age of 25 to get over their handicaps and live their lives as normally as possible. They learn basic skills such as taking care of themselves and cooking. The center accepts donations and individual or corporate sponsors for children who cannot afford to pay the fees.
The wives of consul generals in Jeddah, of other diplomats and female consular staff visited the Hope Center and were touched by the conditions of the children there.
The wife of the Algerian consul general said, “We Arabs and Muslims are always ready to help children. The public needs to be aware of this group in society and realize that though they may be handicapped, God has given them talents and abilities to compensate for their losses.” Because Algerian products are almost never found in the Saudi market, the bazaar was a chance to show samples of handicrafts from all parts of the north African country. The items exhibited attracted the attention of visitors who asked if they could find them in Jeddah. “The items,” the consul general’s wife explained,” were brought from my country especially to be sold and for their profits to be given to the Hope Center.”
The wife of the Filipino consul in Jeddah was unable to attend so a group of female staff from the consulate came and brought items, including handmade bags and food, to sell. Siopao, a popular Filipino dish made of meat and rice-flour was brought from Manila especially for the occasion.
Farha, the wife of the Indian consul in Jeddah, said, “We’ve been preparing for this bazaar for a long time and I’m very happy that it has been successful.” The Indian booth was readily identifiable because of its colorful sari materials in addition to models of the Taj Mahal.
The wife of the South African consul was thrilled that the event had managed to bring 34 different consulates together to work for a worthy purpose. “We were worried that it is the first time for us as wives of consuls in Jeddah to meet and participate in a single event,” she said. “But as we have been working together since last March, I think we will meet again in other events.”
The spirit of the bazaar was a point of interest for the wife of the Swiss consul general. “It is the first diplomatic bazaar for 20 years,” she said. The famous Swiss chocolate and the handmade clocks attracted many visitors to the Swiss booth.
Some of the other participating countries included, Ethiopia, China, Japan, France, Qatar, Tunisia, Yemen, Greece, Russia, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Thailand, Gambia, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Kuwait, UAE and Sudan.